


Meme'd

by berrirose



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Arthur despairing at the fact that his soulmate is a meme-loving fuck, Bad Pick-Up Lines, M/M, Memes, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, the works
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-01
Updated: 2015-08-01
Packaged: 2018-04-12 10:49:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4476518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/berrirose/pseuds/berrirose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Despite having been top of his Literature Honors class, Arthur couldn’t figure out what his soulmate tattoo was trying to say. Almost ten years later, as an English Literature major, Arthur still can’t figure out what his soulmate tattoo is trying to say.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Meme'd

**Author's Note:**

> This was kinda rushed and it's unproofread for now since it's 2am I am so sorry I've brought this into existence omg

With all the experience that came with ten years of living (and with a little help with phonetics from his mother) Arthur learnt exactly what his soulmate tattoo said.

But, it’d take him years to figure out what it _meant_.

It isn’t uncommon for soulmate tattoos to contain words or sayings that are years ahead of its time. After all, it doesn't affect the validity of the tattoo in any way. The person will still be their soulmate, they might just take a bit longer to show up. This may come with the unfortunate consequence of frustrating the owner of the tattoo with the perpetual weight of not being able to understand what their soulmate is trying to say.

Arthur just so happened to be one of them.

The day after he found out, he asked around. However, Arthur wasn’t exactly the most liked kid in the classroom, so replies beyond “ask someone who actually  _cares_ , dummy" and "wow, I can't believe you even  _have_ a tattoo" weren't very abundant. But he didn't really care for those prats.

However, at one point he’d taken to caring just a bit _too_ much when one of his classmates pretended to know the answer (“Tell me what you know _right now_ , Francis, or I’ll make sure that your hair won’t be gum free until the day I die!”) But, he eventually got a lifelong ~~enemy~~ friend from the exchange, so that fiasco ended quite well.

Even though his ten-year-old brain didn’t have the faintest bit of care for what or who a soulmate was, Arthur was determined to find out what they were trying to say as early as possible.

He’d always liked books, that's a given fact. However, his interest in everything from the intricate tales of Sherlock Holmes to the comforting tales of Pepper Pig's Trip to the Market wasn't mutually exclusive with the mystery of his soulmate tattoo. In a way, the search for his future soulmate’s mystery object only fueled his motivation to read even more. He held onto the thought that maybe he’d find the answer hidden right on the next page – and the thrill served as a pretty effective filler motivation to get through the more dull parts his readings.

But even years later, when his stack of read books could’ve outgrown towering trees, and he’d held the title as the most advanced reader in his grade for so long everyone else who cared just gave up trying to take it from him, he _still_ didn’t understand what his tattoo was trying to say.

He was fourteen when he finally decided to take his search online.

He hit up the basics first – various search engine results and forums that honestly told him nothing and left him even _more_ confused when most of the results that popped up were of some football player he’s never heard about. He'd played with the possibility of his future partner-for-life trying to show him a collector's football card upon their first meeting, but that didn’t sit quite well with him.

Eventually he settled into some websites, making accounts and occasionally asking around if anybody knew what it was. He never said why, of course – soulmate tattoos aren’t something people wouldn’t discuss in polite company, but they require _some_ degree of privacy.

His attempts at getting the wonderful people of the internet to help him in his search ended when he began getting pranked. Namely, a couple of hooligans sending him barrages of some poorly drawn green frog in response to his questions. Shortly after that, he retired back into literature and occasional eavesdropping, hoping that whatever object his soulmate’s describing was some ancient artifact in a fantasy novel he hadn't read yet.

However, the event ended up marking the end of his active search for the meaning of his soulmate tattoo. Of course he always kept it in mind while reading a new book or skimping through articles online, but the date of the last time he’d done something solely for the purpose of learning about his tattoo drew further and further away with each passing day.

Before he knew it, he was a second-year undergrad student in a university an entire ocean away from his home country, lugging a small stack of books he needs to take notes on to the study halls near his dorm. One of his damn professors doesn't seem interested in doing his job of teaching, so it looks like he'll have to take matters into his own hands this semester. Thankfully, his classes end quite early on Tuesdays, so his study session will be fairly productive until around noon.

And it _is_  quite peaceful up until another student takes the seat beside him, audibly shifts  _closer_  and a laptop screen is pushed in through the corner of his vision. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that the student’s gotten _far_ too close _far_ too quickly, and Arthur's quick to process the sudden sequence of events.

Annoyed by the stranger’s blatant  _disrespect_  for personal space, Arthur smacks his book closed (carefully, this is a paperback copy) and sets his pen down on his notebook with a complaint on the tip of his tongue.

“Bro,  _check out_  this rare pepe.”

It takes a second for Arthur to realize that _no_ , he definitely wasn’t the one who spoke. It takes _another_ second for the gears in his head to start spinning and he can finally process just _what_ the stranger said.

Arthur’s immediate thought is to lift his shirt up and reread the words that’ve been tattooed above his right hipbone since he was born, but he doesn’t need to. He knows _exactly_ what it says. He’s spent the past _fourteen years_ trying to figure out what it _means_.

Though his priorities may be a bit jumbled at the moment, Arthur’s next immediate thought is to look at the laptop and finally find out what the ‘pepe’ that’s eluded him for over a decade actually _is._

The page appears to be some sort of comedy site, the screen centered on a single post. He recognizes the page, it's a comedy site people are free to share comics and pictures on. His attention turns to the actual post at the center of the screen, wait, isn't this the same image that—

Arthur blinks at the screen.

A meme.

_It’s a meme._

The first thing his soulmate says to him is to ask him to look at some  _meme_  on the internet.

He's spent the last  _decade_ looking for a  _meme_.

He turns to his soulmate, whose brow is already furrowed in expectant worry. The poor soul has probably already realized that the man he just referred to as “bro” is most definitely  _not_  his bro and the incredulous look Arthur's giving him isn’t doing much to help his situation.

“Listen, dude, I just mistook you for someone else I—”

“I can’t  _believe_  you.” His pupils roll to the back of his head as he turns away from his soulmate - who he still doesn’t even know the  _name_  of - in favor of digging his face in his hands. “ _That’s_  what it’s been this whole time? _”_

The last part is muffled into his palms, so his soulmate’s momentary confusion over it is thrown completely out the window because now it’s  _his_  turn to stare incredulously at the stricken blond man sitting beside him.

Arthur hears an audible gulp from beyond the comforting darkness of his palms, soon followed by an uneven chair leg thumping against the ground and an almost hesitant:

“Um, s-sorry but, what does your tattoo say?”

“Oh  _god_ ,” Arthur groans. It’s bad enough that he’s had a  _meme_  tattooed permanently on his skin for almost two decades – at least now he can probably get the damn thing concealed or removed – but now he has to say it out loud _again?_

“B-Because mine says ‘I can’t believe you’ and I just wanna make sure, ya know?”

Arthur picks up the way his voice has climbed up a pitch and picked up an uneasy tremble - and kicks himself for thinking it’s cute. Amazing, he's complimented the man only seventy seconds into knowing him. He really  _is_  his soulmate.

Just when he’s on the verge of being asked again, Arthur lifts his head up. “....’Bro, check out this rare pepe’, that’s what my tattoo says.”

The look of elation that brightens up the other’s face makes Arthur’s heart skip a beat, but it’s short-lived when Arthur’s own expression fails to reciprocate even a fraction of its mirth.

He’s being insensitive, Arthur knows that much. The cheery young bloke probably expected meeting his soulmate to be full of joy and kisses and bridal carries into the sunset - and he isn’t doing much to make it so. Not that overly romantic soulmate meetings aren't something Arthur's pondered, this isn’t really what  _he_  expected it to be either.

“Don’t misunderstand,” begins Arthur, for clarification, “I’m thrilled to finally meet you - I really am - but it’s just come as a shock to me that the ‘pepe’ I’ve spent the last ten years trying to figure out is, well—” He gestures to the laptop in front of them. “— _this.”_

Alfred chuckles, a bit of that smile returning onto his face. “You spent  _ten years_  trying to look for a frog drawn on microsoft paint? Man, you’re a weird dude - no offense.”

Sighing, Arthur decides to slump back in his chair - it seems that his research paper will have to wait for now. “My name is Arthur, by the way, since we’ve spent our first five minutes of being soulmates not knowing each other’s names.”

“I’m Alfred.” There’s a certain comfort Arthur feels now that he  _finally_  knows the name of his soulmate. “Arthur, huh? I’ve spent the past twelve years wondering how I'd disappoint you right after I’d meet you.”

“Ah, yes, sorry about that.” The tone of Alfred’s voice isn’t somber, but Arthur still finds the need to apologize. “I’m just a bit unnerved that my soulmate’s first words to me are him trying to get me to look at a meme.”

Alfred laughs again. It’s a sound that Arthur could  _definitely_  get use to. “Sounds like  _you_  just don’t spend enough time online, dude.”

Arthur scoffs. “I  _do_  spend my leisure time on the internet from time to time, I’m not a  _barbarian_ , of course. You’ve probably just spent far too  _much_  time on it, I’m afraid.”

“Pfft, you better be glad I do, Artie.” Alfred grins, smugly, patting his own chest twice. “You’ve got yourself a grade-A smooth talkin’ soulmate right here.”

Arthur raises an eyebrow, smiling in jest. “A smooth talker? I find that quite hard to believe.”

Alfred laughs haughtily. “You ain’t seen nothing yet. I’ve been saving these lines up for  _years -_ they’re gonna woo you straight outta your _knickers._  Whatever those are.”

"Really now?"

“Are you religious?” lilts Alfred with an exaggerated wink. "Because you’re the answer to all  _my_  prayers.

Arthur can’t help but sputter out a laugh, putting a hand over his mouth almost immediately. “Pfff—that was absolutely  _horrible_.”

Despite the comment, Alfred’s grin only widens at the sight of Arthur holding back giggles beneath his palm-covered smile.

“Are you French? Because ma _damn_ , you’re pretty hot.”

Arthur rolls his eyes - partially due to the line, and partially because if  _those_  are what Alfred considers a decent pair of bedroom eyes then they  _definitely_  need to have a talk at some point.

“What social media site did you get  _that_  one from?”

“Only the best for you, sweetheart,” assures Alfred with a wink, pausing to gather his words before dishing out another line. “Man, I’m glad I brought my library card with me today.”

“ _Oh?”_ Arthur smirks at him, eyebrows arching. “And why’s that?”

“Because I’m totally checking you out.” This time, Alfred finishes with a click of his tongue through a snarky smile and a finger gun.

They hold each other’s gaze, each of them  _this_ close to losing it.

Arthur snorts.

He loses it first.

Soon after, Alfred’s face contorts into a barrage of giggles that matches Arthur’s own. Alfred’s hand is in a fist, thumping lightly on the table while Arthur’s own hand is covering his mouth as if it’s holding a dam from bursting.

They must look ridiculous: two people with apparent blowfish for cheeks looking like they’re having a fit on a university study table, with nothing but books and a laptop with a frog on it.

It takes them a while to calm down, but when he looks over at Alfred afterward, the American’s positively  _beaming_  with triumph. 

“If anything,” Arthur begins, eyes pinched with mirth, “this only proves that you  _do_  spend too much time having your sense of romanticism butchered by the internet.”

It’s not the meeting he thought it’d be.

Alfred’s smile doesn’t waver. “Well, I guess we have a lot of time to work that out, don’t we?”

But, honestly, he wouldn’t have had it any other way.

**Author's Note:**

> tumblr post is [here](http://berrirose.tumblr.com/post/125609519429/memed-usuk-summary-despite-having-been-top-of)


End file.
